Ronald Franz - Ron first meets Chris when he takes him to Oh-My-God Hot Springs which was where Chris was staying at that time. His wife and only child was killed in a car accident when he was stationed in Shanghai and Okinawa and after that he started drinking whiskey. He got over it but to stop his loneliness he would adopt Okinawan boys and girls. He connected with Chris instantly and they spent a lot of time together. Ron taught Chris how to make a leather belt since he was an accomplished leather worker. Ron drove Chris to San Diego when he wanted to go there and later Chris wrote to Ron about how he was a hobo and jumped trains. Chris returned to Salton City, where Ron was, and then Ron drove Chris partway to Carthage. Ron recorded the trip and he also requested that Chris become his grandson to carry on the family name. When Chris was in Carthage, he wrote a letter to Ron saying that he should start living a nomadic lifestyle so he did. When Ron heard of Chris's death, he started drinking again which made him really sick.
Chapter 7
Gail Borah - Gail is Wayne Westerberg's on-again, off-again girlfriend. She is thirty-five years old, divorced, and a mother of two teenage children. Wayne introduced her to Chris when he returned to Carthage and they quickly became acquainted. Chris often had dinner at her house and she also said that he is a good cook even though he cooked a lot of rice.
Mary Westerberg - Mary is Wayne's mother who invited Chris to dinner two days before he left for Alaska. At first Mary was not very enthusiastic about meeting Chris but they ended up talking for five hours straight. Even though she only knew him for a few hours, she was still bothered by his death.
Chapter 8
Gene Rosellini - Gene was like Chris in some ways because he came from a well off family that had relatives that were restaurateurs and also governor of Washington State. He was a young man that was a good athlete and a good student. He wanted to know if it was possible to be independent of modern technology, so he decided to conduct an experiment and moved to the Alaskan wilderness. After a decade of the experiment he concluded that "it is not possible for human beings as we know them to live off the land." He later planned to walk around the world but before that happened, he committed suicide.
John Mallon Waterman - John was a natural rock climber and at sixteen years old, he climbed Mt. McKinley. He had the reputation as one of the most promising young alpinists in North America. He was considered insane to anyone who listened to him. "He was wacky even by Fairbanks standards." His insanity was caused by the divorce of his parents and the abandonment of his father. He also had a lot of bad luck with friends losing their lives while John was young. He was the first person to reach the top of Mt. Hunter's southeast spur. His insanity made him keep notes about himself and his day. When he was getting ready for an expedition, his cabin with all his equipment and notes burned to cinders. He put himself into a psychiatric institute but later left because he thought that they were going to put him away permanently. He then went on another expedition that caused his death.
Carl McCunn - Carl was an amateur photographer from Texas who went into the wilderness to shoot pictures of wildlife. He forgot to scedule when the plane was supose to pick him up in August. He also tossed all but a dozen shotgun shells into the lake that he was staying by. While he was waiting for some one to find him, a plane passed over head and Carl waved to them. The only thing is that Carl only waved one arm which indicated that he was OK. He should have waved both of his arms to let them know that he needed help. He was the type of guy that assumed that some one would show up to save him every time he got in trouble. He ran out of food, starved, and experienced horrible frost bite. He couldn't take it anymore so he committed suicide.
Chapter 9
Everett Ruess - Everett was a lot like Chris in the way that they both loved nature and its beauty. He was a hitchhiker like Chris and went by many pseudonyms like Lan Rameau, Evert Rulan, and Nemo. He wrote many letters to his family about the stereotypes of civilization and he has been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. He was at Davis Gulch in Utah before he disappeared. The most accepted story for the way he died would be that he fell to his death. However, Everett's brother believed that he was murdered and his biographer believed that he drowned. No body or any of his possessions has ever been found.
Ronald Franz - Ron first meets Chris when he takes him to Oh-My-God Hot Springs which was where Chris was staying at that time. His wife and only child was killed in a car accident when he was stationed in Shanghai and Okinawa and after that he started drinking whiskey. He got over it but to stop his loneliness he would adopt Okinawan boys and girls. He connected with Chris instantly and they spent a lot of time together. Ron taught Chris how to make a leather belt since he was an accomplished leather worker. Ron drove Chris to San Diego when he wanted to go there and later Chris wrote to Ron about how he was a hobo and jumped trains. Chris returned to Salton City, where Ron was, and then Ron drove Chris partway to Carthage. Ron recorded the trip and he also requested that Chris become his grandson to carry on the family name. When Chris was in Carthage, he wrote a letter to Ron saying that he should start living a nomadic lifestyle so he did. When Ron heard of Chris's death, he started drinking again which made him really sick.
Chapter 7
Gail Borah - Gail is Wayne Westerberg's on-again, off-again girlfriend. She is thirty-five years old, divorced, and a mother of two teenage children. Wayne introduced her to Chris when he returned to Carthage and they quickly became acquainted. Chris often had dinner at her house and she also said that he is a good cook even though he cooked a lot of rice.
Mary Westerberg - Mary is Wayne's mother who invited Chris to dinner two days before he left for Alaska. At first Mary was not very enthusiastic about meeting Chris but they ended up talking for five hours straight. Even though she only knew him for a few hours, she was still bothered by his death.
Chapter 8
Gene Rosellini - Gene was like Chris in some ways because he came from a well off family that had relatives that were restaurateurs and also governor of Washington State. He was a young man that was a good athlete and a good student. He wanted to know if it was possible to be independent of modern technology, so he decided to conduct an experiment and moved to the Alaskan wilderness. After a decade of the experiment he concluded that "it is not possible for human beings as we know them to live off the land." He later planned to walk around the world but before that happened, he committed suicide.
John Mallon Waterman - John was a natural rock climber and at sixteen years old, he climbed Mt. McKinley. He had the reputation as one of the most promising young alpinists in North America. He was considered insane to anyone who listened to him. "He was wacky even by Fairbanks standards." His insanity was caused by the divorce of his parents and the abandonment of his father. He also had a lot of bad luck with friends losing their lives while John was young. He was the first person to reach the top of Mt. Hunter's southeast spur. His insanity made him keep notes about himself and his day. When he was getting ready for an expedition, his cabin with all his equipment and notes burned to cinders. He put himself into a psychiatric institute but later left because he thought that they were going to put him away permanently. He then went on another expedition that caused his death.
Carl McCunn - Carl was an amateur photographer from Texas who went into the wilderness to shoot pictures of wildlife. He forgot to scedule when the plane was supose to pick him up in August. He also tossed all but a dozen shotgun shells into the lake that he was staying by. While he was waiting for some one to find him, a plane passed over head and Carl waved to them. The only thing is that Carl only waved one arm which indicated that he was OK. He should have waved both of his arms to let them know that he needed help. He was the type of guy that assumed that some one would show up to save him every time he got in trouble. He ran out of food, starved, and experienced horrible frost bite. He couldn't take it anymore so he committed suicide.
Chapter 9
Everett Ruess - Everett was a lot like Chris in the way that they both loved nature and its beauty. He was a hitchhiker like Chris and went by many pseudonyms like Lan Rameau, Evert Rulan, and Nemo. He wrote many letters to his family about the stereotypes of civilization and he has been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. He was at Davis Gulch in Utah before he disappeared. The most accepted story for the way he died would be that he fell to his death. However, Everett's brother believed that he was murdered and his biographer believed that he drowned. No body or any of his possessions has ever been found.
Jess Garver